So yesterday I had this situation.
It’s increasingly familiar.
I was networking and inviting a connection into a conversation about getting to know each other.
The response was I could but it would cost and he told me how much he charged.
I thought ‘what world is this when it costs to say ‘hello’?
And it was very much about what the other person could do for me and how his life needed to managed.
At no point was there any curiosity or interest in me.
Earlier in the week I had a conversation with a new potential project leader.
Again it was the other persons ‘lack of time’ that came up..
I was not asked if I had time.
In these conversations I came away feeling like I had been in the wrong for reacting against them.
The truth is that I dont like being ‘handled’ like that.
Why do we find it so hard to co create and ask what difficulties might exist for both people?
Answer – we all work too hard and lose in quality what we give to quantity.
People put boundaries around their working lives because they feel overwhelmed.
I do. the same.
But I wish, how I wish, they would think about the needs of the other person and not project their own anxiety about time into me.
#communication #leadership #mindfulness